Good morning, channel partners. Here are five technology news updates, insights, chatter, and plenty more to start your day for Wednesday, August 17, 2016.
Actually, there are 12 entries for VARs, managed services providers (MSPs), cloud services providers (CSPs) and independent software vendors (ISVs) and telco master agents and telco agents to sip on. Take a look…
12. Massive Cisco Layoffs?: Cisco is set to cut 14,000 employees, Computer Reseller News reports. Cisco declined comment to the reseller newspaper. The figure is strikingly similar to speculation published by InformationWeek back in April 2016. So are layoffs truly coming? It's a safe bet Cisco will comment on the rumors during a quarterly earnings call with analysts later today.
11. Sophos CIO Hire: GoPro IT leader Tony Young has joined Sophos as CIO, leading the company's global IT organization -- with an emphasis on strategy, security and management. Young joins Sophos as the security company connects the dots between network and endpoint security. Sophos VP Scott Barlow explained the strategy in this podcast.
10. Some Unicorns Stumble: Nearly one-third of unicorns (private companies worth $1 billion or more) will eventually see their valuations fall below $1 billion, according to a report by SharesPost. Roughly 170 companies worldwide currently enjoy unicorn status. Many of those companies lose money, however. A key exception: Within the SMB IT channel, Datto is a rare unicorn that actually generates profits.
9. Amazon Courts Women Entrepreneurs: The cloud and ecommerce giant hosted a Women's Entrepreneur Conference at the company's Seattle, Washington headquarters yesterday. Roughly 300 people -- mostly ecommerce merchants -- attended. Among the key areas of emphasis: Building community around Amazon Business -- an online marketplace that reached $1 billion in sales in less than a year.
8. Cloud Databases: Google Cloud Platform has launched three new database services -- essentially countering similar offerings from Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Cloud SQL, Cloud Bigtable and Cloud Datastore are now available for partners and customers, Google said in a blog post.
7. Statewide WiFi Network: North Dakota could become the first state to have a WiFi network that blankets the entire state. DCN (Dakota Carrier Network) and its 15 owner companies confirmed the project today. Statewide connectivity is expected to be complete within 24 months.
6. IPO Concerns: On the one hand, it's good to hear that Dropbox and Nutanix both are marching toward potential IPOs. But on the other hand... the IPO market could soon have a supply and demand problem. The chart below, from Bloomberg and the University of Florida, shows just how weak the tech IPO market has been in 2016. And a lengthy list of companies are on the sidelines waiting to go public. The wildcard: Will the eventual IPO stampede reveal a new tech boom -- or an overall bust?
5. RMM for IoT: Acorn Energy has repositioned itself to focus on RMM (remote monitoring and management) for stand-by generators, energy pipelines, cell towers and other mission-critical infrastructure. The repositioning surfaced in an August 15 earnings report.
4. Pulseway RMM: Another software company is looking to disrupt the RMM market. This time the solution is Pulseway MSP -- a mobile- and cloud-first RMM platform. The platform was built from scratch to run on mobile devices -- including smartphones, tablets and even wearables, the company claims. The platform costs $2.40 per server per month.
3. Wearable Partner Program: Recon Instruments, an Intel company, has launched the Recon Partner Program, which is designed for developers, independent software vendors, and system integrators. Recon is leaning on partners to help build solutions for smart eyewear.
2. Secure Mobility Partner Program: Cyber adAPT has launched an 'ELITE' channel program offering benefits to strategic consultants, system integrators and value added resellers. The partner program focuses on security for mobile-enabled enterprises.
1. Next Year's Channel Partner Summits: Check the ChannelE2E Technology Event Calendar and you'll see dozens of 2017 conferences already listed -- including Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2017, ConnectWise IT Nation Europe and IT Nation U.S., and plenty more. Is your 2017 partner summit listed yet?
More: Read all of our daily 5 Channel Partner Updates. Plus: Subscribe to our daily enewsletter. Thanks to those who already have.
